Tuna Noodle Casserole

I made a new recipe yesterday.  It came highly recommended and I was very much looking forward to trying it especially since I remembered to purchase the ingredients I needed all in one grocery trip this week.  Oh, except the frozen peas. 

The recipe was for tuna noodle casserole.  What self-respecting Catholic mother doesn't know how to whip up a lovely Friday evening tuna noodle casserole?  Well, I guess I do, but it involves basically two ingredients:  a box of Kraft (ok, let's face it, it's rarely brand-named Kraft, but the box is usually blue!) and a can of tuna.  Yes, yes, I do add milk and butter.  Real butter.  YUM.

But back to my recipe. 
The part of the recipe I was most excited by was the addition of sliced mushrooms.  Three-quarters of my family loves mushrooms.  The other 1/4 loathes them, but we conveniently dismiss that regularly.  (Every blessed pizza ordered in our house has mushrooms on it!  Poor Jackson.)
The concept reminded me of a delicious casserole prepared for me after my first child was born - it was a chicken casserole and if I had to guess, it was basically the same recipe made with cooked chicken instead of canned tuna.  I loved it and I have thought about it many times since. 

So I carved out the 45 minutes or so that I needed to get the casserole ready ahead of time on a Tuesday when we could have hot dogs just in case the recipe was a failure.  I multi-tasked and prepared it while I was on the phone and baked it while I cleaned the bathrooms.  Yay ME!  I even upped the cheese topping from 1 cup to closer to 2 cups.  I mean, who doesn't like cheesy topping, right?  (Possibly the kid who doesn't like mushrooms, but who asked him?)  Remember I forgot the frozen peas?  I knew canned peas woudn't stand up to cooked shells, so I substituted succotash (fancy word for my own concoction of lima beans and corn).  My husband doesn't like peas, but likes limas and corn, so I thought this was clever.

I served it up with the pride a busy mom always feels when somehow the meal is finished right on time, still hot.  One child refused to eat it.  The other, mushroom-hating child declared it YUMMY, but only ate about one bite.  I ate a big bowl of it.  Granted, I'd eat anything, so I'm a horrible judge.

I left my husband a note with the food, like I do every Tuesday as we run out to PREP and then piano lessons.

Apparently all he really read was "it was gross".  He ate the hot dogs. 

What a waste of shredded cheese. 

We threw the recipe in the trash.  Looks like I'll be eating tuna noodle casserole until the weekend.  I'm glad I didn't make this recipe on a Friday when the hot dogs weren't in the fall-back plan. 

7 Quick Takes Friday - Vol 39

-1-

I think about fasting and food often.  I would have never even considered fasting 10 years ago when I was deeply interested in fitness and exercise.  When you are trying to build muscle or even lose fat, you need to keep the metabolism moving, which means frequent small meals and shorter stretches of "fasting".  However, as a Catholic, fasting comes up as a spiritual tool at least twice per year, but honestly much more than that.  The Eucharistic fast requires abstinence from food 1 hour prior to reception of Communion.  And Fridays during Lent are abstinence days and in prior years I have also fasted each Friday of Lent. 

This year I am not making a Friday fasting plan for myself, but I will tell you that it feels like the right thing to do, so it is likely I will do it.  And every Sunday of the year, I abstain from all food until after mass, mostly because it feels like the right thing to do. 

So , I felt much better learning that fasting will not ruin my metabolism because I find it to be a useful spiritual tool.

-2-

After 4 months of working and a few payroll screw-ups, I finally got a pay check this week, exactly 4 months to the day that I started.

I had a few things on my home-office wishlist that I wanted to pay for myself from this check.  I am now the owner of a shiny new laptop and wireless printer.  My home office is shaping up! (Admission: the printer is still in the box.)

-3-

There is a family in my church who has three boys, two of which have been or are students in my CCD class.  They were expecting a fourth baby and I found out this week that they had a baby girl.  What a lucky little girl she will be to have not only amazing parents, but also three great big brothers. 

I am on a bit of a crochet kick these days, so I am thinking of making this hat for her in vareigated pastels. 

-4-

I should hurry up on making that hat, however, because it seems like spring may be here.  My crocuses have been bloomed for about two weeks and my daffodils are coming quickly behind. 

These triplets are teasing me right outside my front door.  There are crocuses in white and purple all along this little bed and not far away, the tulips are making themselves known.

I planted extra daffodils last year from a group that my husband's grandmother gave to us.  She loves posies, as she calls all flowers, and is always sharing bulbs and hunks of plants with us.  I still wish I had been able to take some of the tiger lilys that she gave us that were planted at our old house.  We moved from that house in December, which isn't really the time of year to be digging up tubers. 

At this house so far we have her raspberries and daffodills.  It is wonderful to have such a tangible reminder of a loved one.

-5-

I considered, for pride's sake, not sharing that photo above becasue of the weeds.  I have been avoiding taking pictures of my usual springtime euphoria over signs of new life.  But then I thought that I would just admit humbly that the weeds have overtaken my flower beds.  It is not for lack of trying to keep up.  I weeded my beds no less than 4 times last year.  But it was a bad season for weeds overall and since I was not working, we decided to not buy mulch last year, so both of those things combined with an unseasonally warm winter, my lovely beds now look like this:

It reminds me of the Parable of the Weeds  Matthew 13:24-30  He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weedst among the wheat and went away. Whent the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared. So the slavest of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ Sot the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but thent gathert the wheat into my barn.”’”

-6-

Now I can't wait to pull those suckers (and then burn them) and show you an after photo from the same perspective.  Talk about motivation!

-7-

I have a very exciting opportunity to write for a new magazine.  I will be pouring some of my creativity and time into that over the next two weeks.  I just pray that the Holy Spirit allows me to express myself in a manner most pleasing to Him!  I will be working on this project this weekend as well as starting my day tomorrow at 5am in order to do a few hours of work for my client before I take my daughter for a retreat for First Communion.  Pray for me to keep the balance betweeen work, family, hobbies so that I can give the best of myself to each one of these.

Join Jen Fulwiler and others on Friday for Quick Takes.

Wordless Wednesday

The best parking spot at my local YMCA.

One week into Lent - steam is running short

Ok, it is official.  It is less than one week into Lent and I am losing my steam.

I want a handful of M&Ms.  I want to finish that bag of barbecue chips that I know is mostly crumbs and can be almost drunk out of the bag.  I want to skip my prayers.  I wanted to much to yell at my kids tonight. 

All that being said, last week at this time I was feeding my face with one last doughnut before I went to bed.  It wasn't even a good doughnut.  In my generosity, I got a full dozen and one of the doughnuts was specifically chosen for me (cream filled heart) and then I offered some doughnuts to my piano teacher's family.  Guess which one was chosen first?  Ah....I didn't speak up.  I am still thinking about that cream filled doughnut.  It's odd.  Just a few years ago I would have said how the cream-filled ones are much too sweet and I much prefer the boston cream style of pudding-filled. 

Ah, but I digress.....

Isn't that was sugar and too much of our personal good things do?  They distract us from what is real and good and true. 

In my world, my #1 distraction is food.  It is my comfort as well.  And I have been working a lot and juggling some family drama and personal expectantions and I feel a little spun out of control and in search of comfort. 

Tonight I am going to catch up on my YouVersion.com bible reading.  I am a few weeks (yes, weeks) behind, so I will read a few days' worth in bed.  I need a check-in with the Him and I don't mean my husband! 

I have 5+ more weeks to go.  But I need to remember that Tuesday and Wednesday are my hardest days of the week.  I am spread so thin that I don't have time to do much more than exactly what I have planned.  But the reward is choir practice on Wednesday evening.  I'll feel like a million bucks after that. 

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise. 

PS - Do NOT search google images for the word "distraction".  Apparently sex is the answer, but I assure you, that was not on my mind!  But search for "distracted" and you'll find lots of people eating while driving.  Well, I'm not driving, but I would like to be eating.

Reconciliation Wisdom from a child

The morning after my 8-year-old's First Reconciliation, she said she had a dream about it.  She dreamed that people were in line for Reconciliation and they had sins written all over their hearts and she could see into their hearts where the words were scribbled, soiling the heart itself.  Some people even had words written on their skin like tatoos.

She said when the people came out of the confessional, their hearts were clean again and beautiful. 

When it was her turn to go into the confessional, there was a box where the sins on her heart flew over into.  Everyone's sins from the line before her were already in there.  Hers were added to it. 

Then she suggested that maybe on Easter the box will be emptied, as Jesus died to forgive our sins.

I suggested that maybe with such a vivid visual, she draw out her dream.  She confessed it didn't come out quite how she dreamed it, but I thought it was darling nonetheless.

Where is God in the IT world?

I spent the first 13 years of my adult life working in the IT (information technology) world.  If you have never lived that life, this is a highly-skilled, quick-thinking, fast-paced world filled largely with men who are willing to work long hours in order to provide a good living for their families.  There is lots of stress and responsibility as every system is "critical" and small mistakes can cost millions of dollars.  It requires thoughtful, thorough, detailed, yet creative people who are willing to sometimes let go of their own needs (meals, sleep, time with family) in order to get a problem resolved.

For many years I loved that I could live that life as well as be a good mother.  But I wasn't fooling anyone and after a few years, I nearly cracked from the pressure of it all.  I thought the pressures would make me stronger, like forming carbon into diamond.  It turns out that I will missing a lot from that scientific equation.  Thank God I knew that the missing link was God himself.  Only He can turn carbon into diamond under pressure and time.  And He would also transform me.

So I left my job in a radical life change that made me an at-home mother for one year.  I blissfully tended to my husband, my children, my home, read books, volunteered my time, found prayer and purpose in every daily task.  Truly, this was the most fulfilling, restful, joyful year of my life.  It came to an end near the time when our savings account ran dry and my son started Kindergarten and my husband started to stress more and more about money.

In what I considered to be an answered prayer, I found part-time work that I could perform remotely from home.  I had a guardian angel watching out for me!  While challenging to be at home and also at work, juggling the responsibilities of both roles every day of the week, it is also fulfilling.  I can be the wife and mother that I find such fulfillment in, but I can also be productive and earn some income for our family. 

What I failed to face is that the IT world does not run on God's time.  It is a 24x7 business that is demanding and godless.  I am a devout Christian in a faithless world.  I'm not saying that all IT professionals are faithless, but overall, the concepts of open prayer and living the Sabbath are not widely enforced or even discussed. 

Sometimes I feel absolutely ridiculous in the irony that has become my life.  I rise and pray Lauds, then hop on the computer to do my morning work while drinking coffe from my Count Your Blessings mug.  I fit in the readying of children for school between tasks and housework and practicing hymns.  I listen to recordings of the rosary while running scripts or may tune into the 3pm airing of the Divine Mercy Chaplet on EWTN after a conference call.  And when I don't have the answers I need when issues arise, you'll find me on my knees, asking God for wisdom, often wrapped in a prayer shawl I crocheted for myself this past month for stress relief.  I will end my day with a family meal, prayers with my children, some time spent crocheting or stringing rosaries, praying Vespers, making an Act of Contrition.  I squeeze into my week choir practice, teaching religious education to first graders, and preparing meals for shut-ins.

So when issues arise that require me to work on and off on the weekends, which is fairly widely accepted in the IT world, I struggle.  I don't lack dedication to my work.  How do I make sure that I'm showing my efforts without compromising my faith?  I feel blessed for the ability to fit so much faith into my regular day that I know I also need to sometims fit work into a Sunday.  I'm not ashamed to openly explain that I will be attending mass and observing the Sabbath, but I do fear the fallout on the work front if it appears I am disagreeable or unavailable when I am needed.  So I will try to strike a balance.  When I return to work-mode this Sunday after mass, I will pray that I find God governing even this work, the mysterious and awesome world of data and code, and offer it up to Him as a sacrifice. 

I pray God grants me the grace to continue to balance both faith and duty so that I can live in the world, but not be of the world. 

7 Quick Takes Friday - Vol 38

7 Quick Takes on things that I can do to live a more authentic Christian Life

-1-

Be more gentle

I am a firm parent and I lose my temper and yell when I am not sure what else to do.  I am a gregarious person and I make jokes, often inappropriately.  To become more gentle would be so much less anxiety-provoking and much more powerful.

-2-

Tithe

My husband is not Catholic and is currently our primary wage-earner and he manages our finances.  I donate what I can, but I would prefer to tithe.  I never felt like I could firmly insist on this because of the philisophical differences my husband and I have.  Even if I cannot tithe, I will half-tithe.  And if I cannot give of our overall family income, I will do this with my own income.

I can lead by example, even with my husband.  I can show him that to give will not jeapordize our family's financial stability.

-3-

Be more patient

Life moves fast.  We are often late or rushing.  We often have only the exact few minutes to get to different locations.  I will double the amount of time I think is needed to get places, when possible.  And when we are running late, I will approach it with patience and gratitude for our safety rather than frustration and anger. 

This will be a huge challenge.

-4-

Pray

My prayer life is not lacking, but I would like to resurrect my own personal prayer journal, which is nothing more than a small notebook to keep track of people/things for whom I am praying.

I also used to pray the rosary daily and always found that the medidation on the mysteries really helped me with a personal relationship with Jesus. 

I need to set aside a time to daily pray the rosary that I can make it a priority, perhaps right before bed or right after the kids get on the school bus (which is when I tend to goof off online).

Continue praying Lauds and Vespers and when possible, the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3pm.

-5-

Pat attention more at mass

I cantor and sing in the choir, so I do pay attention to a lot of mass, however, sometimes I get sucked into chit-chat or discussions during the homily or readings or even the Liturgy of the Eucharist that I should not be partaking in.  It is my responsibility to worship well.  If I have prepared well and arrived on time, all of the business can be taken care of prior to mass.

-6-

Get rid of the gossip

I struggle with this one because gossip can be so much fun.  But it is so hurtful and not only to the person who is the topic of discussion!  Gossip is often where other sins come from, making judgements about people, making others envious, showing pride in a sinful form, and spreading untruths.  Even when I don't initiate gossip, I am pronte to entertain it.  I need to turn down the invitation to gossip.  And I need to find the line between talking about someone in the sense that we are sharing and praying for one another versus giving opportunities to judge, become jealous, and bear false witness.

This is not as much of a challenge with others as it is with my husband.  He loves to talk in the form of gossip, so I have to find a means to communicate with him without allowing this sinful way to lead our sharing of experiences.

-7-

Love

Of course I love my husband and children and I tell them how much and I act out of love every day in both big and small ways. But I need to do this even more. I need to say it even more. I need to give less direction and instruction and discipline and instead discipline myself. I need to show love.  And I need to show love to others, strangers, friends, colleagues in a powerful way.  Love is easy for me to give.  I just need to do it.

Join Jen at ConversionDiary.com for more Quick Takes